With the outbreak of the coronavirus, legislators scramble to see if the 2021 fiscal year budget can be passed sooner.
Originally given a deadline of April 1, 2020, New York State legislators are now working on passing the state’s 2021 fiscal year budget as early as this week in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New York now has the most confirmed COVID-19 cases in the nation, with 1,700 people testing positive for the virus as of March 17.
Controversial policies like bail reform, the legalization of recreational marijuana and cuts to the state Medicaid program could make it difficult to reach a budget deal in only a matter of days. Legislators will either have to defer controversial legislation until 2021 or resolve these issues quickly in order to pass the budget.
Good-government groups and a growing number of Republican lawmakers are pleading with the governor and Democratic lawmakers who control both the Senate and Assembly to keep policy issues out of the state budget this year and instead focus on a fiscal spending plan that addresses the current health crisis and the billions in lost revenue it will bring to the state.
“We must keep only two things on the agenda right now: responding to the coronavirus and passing a budget focused on meeting the state’s fiscal obligations to keep the government operational,” said Assemblyman Michael Fitzpatrick, R-Smithtown. “Any effort to insert policy where it does not belong must be rejected.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s original budget outlined measures to legalize the adult-use of marijuana; reform the state’s current Medicaid system; and continue the reformation of the criminal justice system, including controversial bail reform policies passed last April as part of the 2020 budget.
At a press conference in Albany on Monday, Cuomo said he believed the state’s spending plan should still include these measures.
“I want to see as much as we can get done,” Cuomo said.
Senate Minority Leader John J. Flanagan, R-Smithtown, also weighed in on the budget process this session. “What we should not be doing, under any circumstances, is jamming completely unrelated and highly controversial policy measures in place when all New Yorkers are appropriately focused on dealing with this crisis.”
Good government groups Common Cause/NY, the League of Women Voters of New York State, the New York Public Interest Research Group, Citizens Union and Reinvent Albany are calling on legislators to keep policy out of the budget, and instead to focus on a fiscal response to the COVID-19 health crisis.
“We are all agreed on a unified and focused fiscal response to the health crisis facing our state, providing the necessary funds as part of the budget so that all levels of government can respond aggressively to the public health threat presented by COVID-19,” the groups stated in a press release March 16. “Lawmakers must remain focused on that goal alone, and not try to cram through unrelated policy issues as part of the budget.”
Another issue impacting the negotiations of the state budget is legislators’ concerns over their health and safety working in Albany amidst the closure of the Capitol building to visitors and the confirmation that two Assembly members have tested positive for the coronavirus.
If legislators choose to stay home in the coming days and weeks, there could be little debate or discussion about funding controversial issues in the budget, or it could lead hesitant legislators to simply pass the budget in a rush to return to their districts.
“Multiple steps should be considered to effectively address the revenue risks … Spending decisions should reflect economic and fiscal realities,” New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli wrote in a letter to Cuomo on Tuesday regarding the devastating effects that COVID-19 is projected to have on the state’s economy.
Senator Michael Gianaris, D-Queens, remains optimistic that lawmakers can adopt a budget with some of the policy goals announced earlier in the year.
“As much as we can agree to, we should get done,” Gianaris said. “So if we can agree with the parties on other issues we should agree to it, and if we can’t then we’ll have to deal with it another time.”
The budget deadline still remains April 1, 2020 despite calls for an expedited timeline. The Legislature and the Governor’s Office are working within Department of Health guidelines in order for Assembly Members, senators and their staff to meet in order to discuss and pass the budget.
